Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Cao South Village

At the gate of Cao South Village, You Bing Yue and the others groped their way through the dark and finally found the place. From far off, they saw the three characters hanging on the two big doors. In the night, the blood-red letters stood out, so bright they could be seen from a li away.

You Bing Yue stood beside Ou Yang Shuo, with Du Zi Heng on her other side.

Frowning at the plaque, Du Zi Heng felt uneasy just from a glance and said: “It is already very late. How about we come back tomorrow?”

He kept Yu Zhi Yi’s warning in mind. This was a place of great evil. Ou Yang Shuo would face a blood calamity. Worse, if Ou Yang Shuo bled, the fiend in the village would become much stronger.

You Bing Yue’s face, happy a moment ago because they reached their goal, turned cold at once and said: “Young Master Du, if you are afraid, you can stay behind.”

She had finally found a track on which she could compete with Yu Zhi Yi. How could she give it up? If she solved the thirty-year-old murder case in Cao South Village and destroyed the female ghost inside, she would be famous across the land. She was not like Yu Zhi Yi, who exposed people with a few sharp words. She solved problems by action and brains, not by some laughable Mystic Arts.

But this Du Zi Heng…

When she learned this morning that he had taken a few days off and even asked to leave the capital with them, she had been glad. Now she saw he had not come for her at all. He had come to stop her.

The others’ expressions also turned unfriendly.

Li Chang Huai tapped his palm with a folded fan, smiling while saying something unpleasant: “Brother You Lin must still be thinking of Young Madam Du’s dire warning. He is frightened.”

The Yunnan King’s heir, Liu Fei Yang, loved lively scenes. The last few days had given him two that interested him: first, the triangle among Yu Zhi Yi, Du Zi Heng, and You Bing Yue; second, the truth behind the female ghost case in Cao South Village. He chuckled and said: “Brother You Lin, don’t worry. The five of us all know martial arts, and Young Master Ou Yang is Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s first disciple. Slaying demons and exorcising fiends is nothing to him. Even if there is a fierce spirit inside, Young Master Ou Yang can easily drive it out.”

You Bing Yue crossed her arms and said coldly: “If you are scared, then go back, Young Master Du,” then she gave a mocking smile and said: “If I have guessed right, Young Madam Du will arrive soon. Since you believe her more, you can wait here for her. With all her powers, she can surely protect you.”

“Bing Yue,” Du Zi Heng said, tired at heart, “this is not the time to sulk. This is about life and death.”

Ou Yang Shuo looked at him without expression and said: “Young Master Du, are you looking down on me, or on Dragon-Tiger Mountain?”

“Neither,” Du Zi Heng said.

Ou Yang Shuo sneered and said: “If neither, then be quiet.”

Du Zi Heng refused to drop it and said: “Even if we have to go in, we do not need to rush right now. It is already late. We can come back in daylight.”

The mockery on Ou Yang Shuo’s face deepened and he said: “Eldest Young Master Du, outsiders should not teach insiders. In daylight, the yang is strong and yin things hide. If what happened thirty years ago was really done by a female ghost, and we wait until it hides to go in, what is the point of investigating?”

Du Zi Heng could only watch the four of them step into the village.

He touched the spot on his chest where the Peace Talisman rested, then, gritting his teeth, followed them inside.

None of them noticed that once they entered Cao South Village, the deep night turned darker still, black as ink. Above the village, a black vortex formed, like a Demonic Creature crouching and waiting, ready at any moment to stretch out sharp claws and strike its prey dead.

Rushing as fast as she could, Yu Zhi Yi still did not catch them at the gate. She knew she was late. A few familiar traces remained at the entrance, exactly the auras she had sensed last night at Du Zi Heng’s place: three strangers, plus You Bing Yue and Du Zi Heng.

Her face sank. She had expected only three people. She had not expected two more to come gawk. She almost laughed from anger and thought: [Is this kind of fun so worth watching? One careless step, and you become part of the show forever.]

She looked up at the blood-red words “Cao South Village,” then lifted her foot and stepped inside.

As soon as she drew close, waves of chill from all directions rushed at her. Yet before they came within a pace, they hit an invisible golden light around her and stopped. Where the light touched them, the chill sizzled like water on hot iron and turned to white mist that vanished into the night.

Yu Zhi Yi raised an eyebrow. She had not even done anything. She thought: [Merit Light really is a good thing. With its protection, ordinary Malevolent Spirits cannot get close, and even the fiendish aura of a century-old wraith will shy away.]

Even with Merit Light guarding her, she did not let down her guard. She took out copper coins, divined for a while, then set off in a chosen direction.

Suddenly, her eyes moved. Someone was ahead.

An old woman walked toward her with stiff steps, yet with surprising speed. In no time she stood before Yu Zhi Yi and lifted a pale, aged face and said: “Stranger, what brings you to our Cao South Village?”

Yu Zhi Yi gave a cool glance at the ground beneath the woman’s feet, where no shadow showed, then raised her eyes, calm as still water, and said: “I came traveling with a few friends. We got separated on the road. I want to ask if they came into this village.”

“So you are here to find your friends,” the old woman said.

She reached out as if to pat Yu Zhi Yi’s shoulder, but the instant her hand stretched out, she hissed and jerked back as if scalded by hot water. For a moment her face twisted.

Suddenly she shouted in anger and said: “Go away. Our Cao South Village does not welcome you.”

Yu Zhi Yi touched the tip of her nose, pulled the Merit Light back into her body, then patted the old woman’s shoulder and said: “Auntie, don’t worry. We will not eat or stay for free. We will pay. Also, we will only stay one night and leave tomorrow.”

The old woman stared at the hand on her shoulder, and a hint of confusion seemed to flicker in her dull eyes. After a moment, she nodded and said: “Fine. Then you can stay.”

Right after that, her face sank again, and in a low, chilly voice she warned and said: “But I must warn you. Do not wander or pry. No matter what you hear at night, do not go out.”

“Alright,” Yu Zhi Yi said.

As the old woman turned away, Yu Zhi Yi suddenly asked: “Oh, auntie, I heard there is a river at the village entrance. Why did I not see it on my way in?”

The old woman’s face, which had just calmed, twisted back into madness, and she snapped and said: “What nonsense. Our village has no river. No river.”